Saved by the Doctor

by Ivy Wonders

  Reagan kissed her little doppelganger on top of her auburn head. “I love you too, Cicely.”

  Skye came jumping into the room, his fist pumping in the air. “Today’s the day! I get to find out what we’re having! Woo hoo!”

  Reagan still looked unhappy about that as she asked, “Skye, are you sure you want to know about them? Won’t it be more fun if none of us knows?”

  Skye went to hug his mother. “Mom, at first, when I thought you were only having one baby, I didn’t have much hope for a brother. But now that there’s three babies in there, I think at least one of them could be a boy. I’ve never been more excited.”

  Sighing, Reagan knew Skye needed to know this time around. “Okay. But you’ve got to play it cool with me. I still want to be surprised.”

  I put my arm around Skye’s shoulders as I led the kids away to get in the car. “I’ll pick you up after school. Just you and me. We’ll go down to New Release and grab something to eat and read a bit before we come back home. That way we should be all chilled out and won’t give your mother the slightest hint what she’s cooking up in her oven.”

  We left her to rest for the first part of the day, then I came back home to get her. What I found didn’t make me happy.

  Crying in bed, Reagan looked terrible as a trash can sat on the floor right next to the bed. “I’m sick,” she wailed as she held out her arms to me.

  Being a good husband, I went to her, hugging her even though she might be contagious. “How long have you been throwing up?”

  “I’ve done it twice in the last hour.” She let me go and looked at me with sad eyes. “Skye’s going to be so disappointed, Arrie. I can’t go to the appointment feeling like this.”

  It hit me that her puking might not have been from anything more than nerves. “You know, you so badly don’t want to know the sex of these babies that you might’ve brought this on psychosomatically.”

  Her green eyes went wide. “You think I’m crazy?”

  “No.” I had to laugh. “But I know how persistent you can be. And I know how adamant you are about not wanting the know the gender of these babies. I think you might be making yourself sick. But I’ve got a great idea.”

  “And what is this great idea?” she asked, sounding skeptical. “Because whether you think I’m really sick or not, I am throwing up and I will not get out of this bed.”

  Taking my cell out of the pocket of my scrubs, I made a call after leaving the room. Reagan would protest what I wanted to do anyway. But I wasn’t going to let our son down today.

  An hour later, I came back with a sonographer and a portable sonogram machine. The look on Reagan’s face when we came into the bedroom was priceless. “I know this is going to cost an arm and a leg, Arrie.”

  The sonographer, Tracy nodded. “Yes, you’re right. But he’s already paid me in cash, so you’re getting it done today, Reagan. But he’s clued me in on you not wanting to know the genders of the triplets. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

  Reagan’s lips formed one line, telling me she was a little on the angry side I’d done such a thing. “Seems my husband has figured out a way to give his son what he’s been asking for.”

  “I have.” I kissed her cheek as Tracy got set up. “And I will keep my promise to you too, Little Momma. You will not be the wiser until you see your little cherubs in the flesh.”

  Reagan

  Somehow, Skye and Arrie kept it all under wraps, which amazed me. And now the time for the babies to be born was at hand. “It’s time to go, Arrie.” I shook him to wake him up.

  “What?” He sat up, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. “You sure?”

  “I’ve been awake the last two hours.” I knew there’d be no going back now. “The contractions are coming every twenty minutes. We need to get going.”

  The triplets were three weeks early, but that was to be expected. Arrie knew that as he got out of bed. “I’ll help you get ready, and I’ll call Lucas to join us.” Arrie was adamant about keeping bodyguards around us at all times; that would never change.

  He headed toward the bathroom while making the calls and I tried to get my huge body out of bed on my own. Which I found to be a grave mistake as I felt a gush of fluid and knew my water had broken with the exertion. “Crap!”

  My head went light, and I fell back on the pillow as my heart sped up then slowed way down. Drifting in and out of consciousness, I felt a small amount of relief when Arrie came out of the bathroom. “Reagan! Oh shit, baby. I think your blood pressure is spiking.”

  I felt so weak, so drained, so out of it. “Arrie.” I moved my hand along the now-soaked bed. “I can’t move.”

  “No, you can’t.” He ran his hand over my head. “We’ll be having these babies right here.” Taking the cell, he called Pam to let her know she’d have to get everyone to our home.

  I kept going in and out, hearing Arrie say some things and spacing out the rest of the time. The last thing I heard him say frightened me. “It may be a stroke.”

  With no idea how long I’d been out, I couldn’t open my eyes, but I could hear people talking. And our son was the one who stood out to me as he spoke to his little sisters, “Look, Mom needs our prayers right now. And so do the babies.”

  “Okay,” I heard Cicely say quietly.

  The twins spoke in unison, “We’ll pray, Skye.”

  I managed to open my eyes; I wanted the kids to know I’d be all right. Looking through blurred vision, I saw the huddle my children were in. Skye had his arms around his sisters, keeping them calm as they silently prayed together.

  My heart swelled as I watched them all. “I’m okay,” I whispered so quietly no one heard me.

  “She’s awake,” I heard someone say.

  Arrie came in close to my face. “Can you say anything, baby?”

  “I can’t feel anything.” I took a deep breath, and it felt weird.

  “You’ve had an epidural. The babies are about to be delivered through C-section.” Arrie kissed my forehead. “So far, they’re all okay.”

  Skye came to my side, wearing little scrubs and a mask just like his father. “Mom, you just take it easy. I’m taking good care of my sisters. You just relax and let them get my brothers.”

  “Brothers?” I asked. I thought I’d feel disappointment, knowing what the babies were before I actually saw them. Somehow, I wasn’t disappointed at all. “Are they all boys?”

  Arrie and Sky nodded. I could see the smiles in their eyes as Arrie said, “Three boys, baby. You did it.”

  Skye looked over his shoulder at his sisters, who I could now see were on the other side of a clear plastic curtain. “You gave me just as many brothers as I have sisters, Mom.”

  The sound of a baby crying had me turning my attention away from Skye and Arrie. “One of them is out.”

  Skye and Arrie looked up too, watching the nurse take the first boy over to an incubator that they’d brought in. I looked around our bedroom to find it wasn’t anything like the room I’d passed out in. Now it resembled a labor and delivery room. Three incubators were right next to each other.

  Another crying sound came, and Skye looked at me. “They look alike, Mom. Like the twins, I think they’re all going to look alike.”

  Arrie ran his hand over my shoulder. “So far, we’ve got two boys with dark hair. I haven’t seen their eyes yet.”

  Skye looked at his father. “I think they’re going to look like you and me, Dad.”

  Nothing made me happier than giving my son those brothers who looked like him. He’d wanted them for so long, and now it seemed I’d given them to him.

  The last boy’s cry was shrill, and I heard the staff laughing. Pam held him up so I could see him over the drape. “You’ve got yourself a little redhead, Reagan.”

  My eyes filled with tears as I’d gotten a son who looked like me too. “What a family we have, Arrie.”

  His soft lips pressed against mine. When he pulled back, I saw tears glistening in his eyes. “You
’ve given me more than I could’ve ever hoped for.”

  “Me too, Mom,” Skye said as he took my hand. “Thanks. I mean it. And just so you know, I would’ve loved them even if they’d all been girls.”

  “But you would’ve been disappointed,” I said knowingly.

  “I didn’t say I wouldn’t have been disappointed,” Skye agreed. “But I would’ve loved them. I do love my little sisters, Mom. Even though it might not seem like it, I do love them all.” He looked at the girls as they stood behind the clear plastic curtain. “Even Thing One and Thing Two.”

  I saw the twins stick their tongues out at their older brother. “They love you too, Skye.”

  Seven kids later, and Arrie and I had still stayed on our path. A path that kept those happy time going for all of us.

  And our happily ever after goes on …

  The End

  The Nurses of Saint Christopher Book Two

  “Jamison’s Billionaire”

  A Secrets of the Flame Extra

  By Ivy Wonders

  Megan Lee

  Rule number one, don’t fall for your patients. Rule number two, forget rule number one …

  He showed up in the ER with a broken tibia and a charming smile on his ruggedly handsome face.

  I soon found out he couldn’t take no for an answer, but then again, I answered with my own charming smile every time he asked me out.

  One steamy night in his hospital bed changed my mind about everything.

  He made my dreams dim in comparison to what he could do for me.

  But could a spoiled billionaire and a hard-working nurse really last …

  Jamison

  Morning sun streamed through my windshield as I drove to work that day. My sunglasses in my purse, I reached over to dig them out before I crashed my new Jeep Wrangler into something or someone. Slipping them on, I could see once more without the need to squint until my eyes were nearly shut.

  I caught some men stretching in the park near Saint Christopher’s General Hospital where I worked as a nurse. The shorts they wore and the soccer balls scattered around told me there’d be a game going on soon. Not particularly a fan of the sport, I did find the men who played it to be a certain kind of hot.

  By the young females who began strolling into the park, I knew more than just I found that sort of man nice to look at. If I timed it right, I’d be able to look out one of the top floor’s windows to catch a little action once the game began. Suddenly, my morning had just gotten brighter with the thought.

  Pulling into the parking garage, I got out of the car with a spring in my step. My twenty-fifth birthday was only a couple days away and I’d yet to plan anything for that momentous occasion.

  Sure, my family would have a dinner for me, make me a homemade cake, and there’d be ice cream, but my girlfriends had yet to tell me if they’d come up with a surprise party for me, for later that night. Being a Saturday, I expected they’d want to go clubbing or something.

  That scene had kind of played out for me lately. I’d had just about enough of sleazy, half-drunk guys feeding me lines. I wanted a real man. No more boys, looking to score.

  Stepping into the lobby, I asked Lola, who sat at the information desk, about her morning. “Hi there, Lola. How’s it going this morning?”

  The perfect host, she poured me a paper cup of coffee she always had made just behind the desk, then slid it to me. “My morning is going very well, Jamison. And how is yours?”

  “Well, I saw some handsome guys getting ready to play soccer in the park, so there’s that.” I sipped the coffee then gave her a thumbs up. “Great, as usual.”

  Looking out the front doors, she tried to catch a glimpse of the men I’d spoken about. “Where you at today, Jamison?”

  “In the ER.” I took my coffee and began heading that way. “I hope it’s not one of those days today.” I held up my crossed fingers.

  She did the same. “Me too. Have a nice day.”

  “You too.” I waved at her. “See you around lunchtime.”

  “I’ll have some green tea with pomegranate made by then,” she let me know.

  “Yeah!” I loved her flavored teas. “You rock, Lola.”

  Pushing through the double doors that led to the emergency room, I heard the sound of a little kid crying, and it made my heart speed up like it did every time I heard the sound of a kid in pain.

  In the waiting area, a woman held a little boy on her lap, running her hand over his head as he leaned on her shoulder, crying away. I had to go to them to find out what had happened. “Morning. I see you’ve had a rough start to it. I’m Nurse Jamison. What’s the trouble?”

  “His ear is killing him,” the woman told me. “We’ve been here about fifteen minutes, and I don’t see any reason we’re having to wait. No one else is here. Can you find out what the holdup is? Tommy’s in a lot of pain, as you can see.”

  Running my hand over the boy’s red cheek, I felt the fever that plagued him. “My bets are on an ear infection. Let me run back and straighten things out. I’ll have you two back there in a jiffy.” Reaching into the pocket of my scrubs, I pulled out a little lollipop and handed it to the crying boy. “Here ya go, Tommy.”

  Sniffling, he took the candy and smiled a little. “Thanks.”

  Heading back, I found only one doctor was in. He had his hands full with a combative old man who apparently had a terrible case of constipation. And he wasn’t taking the idea of an enema well at all as he held his fists up at Dr. Kerr. “I’ll punch ya, Doc. Don’t test me.”

  “Look, this is going to help you. Just allow me …” Dr. Kerr didn’t get to say anything else as the old man took a swing at him.

  “No way!” His fists narrowly missed the doctor, who’d taken a step back.

  Knowing how to handle a man like him, I helped the doc out, “Dr. Kerr, I can take this patient for you. There’s a little boy waiting whose ear is killing him. He’s got a fever too. It would be great if you could help him out while I get,” I checked the chart at the foot of the bed for the patient’s name, “Mr. Cleaver squared away.”

  “Thank you, Jamison.” Dr. Kerr couldn’t get away from the grouchy old man quick enough.

  All I had to do was turn on the charm. “Mr. Cleaver, you look like you’re in need of some quick relief.”

  Already, the man had calmed down with my presence. “You’re damn right, I do. But I ain’t about to let no man stick anything up my tuckus.”

  Luckily, I wasn’t a man.

  Teigen

  Only fifteen minutes into the soccer game, a light mist began to fall. I had the ball, heading in for a goal. The other team started closing in on me, threating to stop the goal. I wasn’t having it and went for the final kick to plunge the ball into the net.

  My leg went out, connecting with the ball, while my other foot slid over the wet grass, moving me forward and making it so my right shin connected with the metal goal post. “Shit!” Rolling on the ground, holding my right leg, I knew it instinctively. “It’s broken!”

  Lying on my back, I heard one of the guys calling the ambulance while another made a gagging sound. “Oh God! His bone’s sticking out!”

  I didn’t want to look. It sounded gruesome enough; the sight would probably have me blowing chunks. All I could do was moan and groan as the pain wracked my entire body, “Shit, damn, fuck me, this is terrible!”

  With the hospital being right there, it took no time for a couple of paramedics to have me on a stretcher and into the emergency room. “Here you go,” one of the men said. “Dr. Kerr will be right with you. Just lay here and relax.”

  “Yeah, relax,” I moaned. “It’s not like my shinbone is broken in two and jutting out of my damn leg or anything. No reason to get all whiny or anything.”

  “Nice,” I heard a woman say with a sweet, soft voice. “I hope you scored at least.”

  “I think I did.” I tried to stop all the moaning and whimpering to act tough in front of the pretty little
blonde who’d walked up to me. Her hot pink scrubs looked adorable on her. “I like your scrubs.”

  She ran her hand over her round hip. “What? These old things?” With a wink, she went on, “Now, let’s see here. You’ve quite obviously broken your right tibia. And it’s going to require a bit of surgery, so let me ask you some questions.”

  “No, let me ask you some questions,” I interrupted her. “First one: will I have to be put under?”

  She nodded. “Believe me, it’s best that way.”

  “Okay. Second question: will you hold my hand while I’m in surgery?” I managed to wink at her even though the pain was nearly unbearable.

  Her head shook. “I won’t be in there. But I might be the one who sits with you in the recovery room.”

  I wiggled my fingers. “Then, will you hold my hand?”

  One long finger with a cute manicured light pink nail perched on her matching pink lips. “Hmm. I’m going to have to give you a no on that, soccer boy. We do have rules, you know.”

  Soccer boy?

  She didn’t know who I was. I found that hard to believe. My family was well-known, after all.

  “I think you’ll find you can break them for me,” I looked at her nametag, “Jamison.”

  “Speaking of names, you got one?” she asked, then pulled her arms around from behind her back. She had a clipboard in her hand and took the pen off the top of it. “I’m supposed to be getting your information. That means you’ll have to hold off on the flirting for a moment.”

  I thought my name might mean something to her and loved saying, “Teigen Hainsworth.”

  She jotted that down without so much as a cocked eyebrow—which were shaped perfectly. “And how old are you, Mr. Hainsworth?”

  “Not old enough to be called mister,” I assured her. “I’m thirty-one. And how old are you, Jamison?”

  “I’m about to be twenty-five on Saturday,” she let me know before asking, “Any allergies, Teigen?”